Patriots' LaFell has a lot to learn

Free-agent wide receiver Brandon LaFell admits he still has a long way to go as he makes the transition from the Carolina Panthers' to the Patriots' offense.

Glen Farley The Enterprise @GFarley_ent

FOXBORO – Brandon LaFell is 27 years old – and he’s still got a lot to learn.

“I’ve learned a lot, man,” the wide receiver said following the Patriots’ most recent organized team activity on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium, “but I’m nowhere near where I want to be yet.”

In terms of a learning curve, LaFell, who made the move from Carolina to New England as a free agent when he signed a three-year, $9-million contract in March, readily admits he isn’t up to speed yet.

“The quicker I can learn this offense, the quicker I can go out there and be reliable, to play fast and know what I’m doing instead of now, (where) I’m kind of playing at half-speed because I’m thinking so much,” said LaFell. “The quicker I can learn this offense, the better it will be for me to get on this field and help this team.”

A third-round pick (78th overall) of the Panthers in the 2010 NFL Draft, the Louisiana State University product caught 167 passes for 2,385 yards and 13 touchdowns in 60 games over four seasons with Carolina, career highs of 49 receptions and five TDs coming last year when he accounted for 627 yards (50 shy of his career best in 2012).

Now, as he approaches his third and final week of OTAs with the Patriots to be followed by the team’s minicamp from June 17-19, LaFell feels like a rookie all over again.

“The main thing I want to get out of (the spring) is learning this playbook … learning this playbook so I can play fast,” LaFell said Thursday. “And building enough confidence so that (Tom) Brady can come to me with the ball.”

The Patriots’ veteran quarterback, LaFell said, has come as advertised.

“Everything I heard is head on,” said LaFell. “He demands the best of everybody and he’s going to give his best every day. And when things aren’t going right, he’s not going to sugarcoat it. He’s going to let you know about it.”

While, at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, LaFell brings some size to a wide receiver position that’s been lacking in it, for now you’ll have to pardon him if, at times, he comes up a bit short in the translation when it comes to the Patriots’ offense.

“It’s a little bit of everything,” LaFell answered when asked the difference in terminology between the Panthers’ and the Pats’ systems. “I’m used to running a number system and now I’m back to code words. So it’s a lot (different).”

So, he says, is the level of competition he and the other members of the Patriots’ receiving corps find themselves matched up against this spring.

“(Cornerback Darrelle) Revis is a guy to single out,” said LaFell. “None of the tricks you’re going to do are going to work on him. And (cornerback Brandon) Browner, he’s a larger guy, long bones, real physical, so going against all those guys every day, speaking for me and the other guys, those guys are making us better.

“I think that if we can go out and face these guys and continue to get better,” LaFell said, “we’ll be able to do this against anybody in the league.”

Glen Farley may be reached at gfarley@enterprisenews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @GFarley_ent.

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